As the project studio market explodes,
more and more resources have become available to the new
or experienced home studio musician/producer so that you
don't need to learn everything the hard way, by trial
and error. We will be doing a roundup of books soon, but
to get your started you might try Digital Audio by Peter
Kirn, then from there we sell many good books on
individual programs.

But how does one keep abreast of new
technology, learn new tips from people who've been doing
it for a while and just generally increase your
knowledge while not constantly making the time
investment of reading another book that explains what a
soundwave is.

Ah, Magazines. And now your local
newstand carries a multitude of monthly glossies, one of
them probably catering directly to your skill level and
taste. Let me give you an overview of what's available
out there (that I know of, I'm sure I missed some
people), so if you see one that seems to really fit your
needs you can know what you are looking for.

Last time I did this I broke the
magazines into different categories but now the lines
have become so blurred that I would spend most of my
time deciding which category the magazine is in, and may
mistakenly have someone miss out on a great magazine. I
will describe each magazine, who they are aimed at (in
my perception) and I will offer my opinion of what are
the best, which you can pay attention to or not. Also
remember that magazine subscrition are usually dirt
cheap (around $20 a year for most domestic) so you can
take a chance and not have risked that much. That said,
let's begin in no particular order than the pile of
magazine on my floor.

Sound on Sound - This
magazine is an audioMIDI.com favorite and in my opinion
the best all around music technology magazine published
today. The focus is on the electronic musician so expect
reviews of most new software releases, but mic pres,
hardware compressors, etc. are included too. Anything
that might be applicable to the studio musician though
they general stay away from items that go over $5k. They
feature columns devoted to each of the major sequencers
platforms and to Mac and PC, so your chance of finding a
useful piece of information is high. In fact I find that
my SOS's pile up the most because I want to read a
majority of the articles and can't find the time. Also
subscribers receive access to the archives online which
contains some amazing tutorial series including a near
legendary synth programming tutorial by Gordon Reid.
Sound on Sound also has the rare reputation of calling a
spade a spade and giving some pieces of gear bad
reviews, sometimes really bad, something you rarely see
in almost every other music mag.

The only downside is that SOS comes out
of the UK. This used to be a big problem because the
magazine ran you $12 to $14 at the newsstand and all
prices were in pounds. Now they publish an
"international" edition which only lowered the newsstand
price to $9.95 but the ads and review are in Dollars and
subscriptions are much cheaper and we here at audioMIDI
often offer special rates. The only other downside to it
origins in the English Empire is that they feature
artists who are popular in England but unknown in the
U.S. Maybe thats not a downside but you don't get the
interviews with your favorite artists as often.
(published monthly)

Tape Op - the Maverick
amongst Music Tech magazines they have this crazy idea
that artistry comes before gear. That being said, the
magazine is chock full of gear reviews and interviews
with gear makers. They also regularly carry interviews
with small studio owners, legendary studio engineers or
producers. The emphasis is very much on recording live
instruments (aka indie bands) rather than synthesized
studio artists, with the perspective that new and shiny
doesn't necessarily trump old and weird (as long as its
cheap). If you have been recording your buddies bands
with your portable eight track and wonder if there might
be money in this sort of stuff this magazine was made
for you. If Steve Albini was a magazine, he'd probably
be Tape Op. Tape Op also sponsors a conference every
year that features workshops and speakers of renown
usually some time in June. While the newstand price is
$4.50, subscriptions are FREE. Just visit www.tapeop.com
and sign up (you can also pay if you prefer to review
Tape Op first class mail). (published bi-monthly)

Virtual Instruments -
You know the market is getting bigger when people start
to get more and more specialized and certainly Virtual
Instruments in one of the biggest growth areas (thank
god, so I still have a job). For the Virtual Instrument
lover/user this probably won't be the only magazine you
read but it's a pretty essential one since there are so
many VI's out there now that trying to sort the wheat
from the chaff (god I hate chaff) would take an
incredible amount of time as new instruments are
released literally every day. While the name does
accurately depict its focus, it does cover issues that
VI users would be interested in, such as reducing
computer noise, optimzation, etc. For users of VI's this
magazine is a must, its practically got your name on it,
although it probably shouldn't be the only magazine you
subscribe to. (published bi-monthly)

Electronic Musician -
Here again the title gives you a pretty good idea of the
target audience, mixing up reviews of both hardware and
software and tutorial articles such as "Quantizing Audio
Drum Tracks in Logic Pro" (which would allow you to
match the functionality of Pro Tools famed "Beat
Detective", so its a big deal, if you have Logic Pro).
It also features interview with artists, engineers and
producers.

There was a period where I thought that
EM (at the time one of the few Music Technology mags)
was taking a serious dip in quality but it has undergone
a renaissance of late (last year or so) and is back in
my "to read" pile. Sometimes its reach is so broad that
I only find one or two items on the cover that strike my
interest, but if I read it all the way through I feel as
if I have learned a lot. EM is one of the more readily
available at newsstands (I got my first one at an
airport) and subscriptions are just a little more than
$20 for a monthly publication which is a good deal even
if only one article a month was up your alley.
(published monthly)

Keyboard - While
keeping its original roots as a magazine for the
piano/organ player, then the synth player, it now covers
most areas of interest to the electronic musician like
reviews of softsynths and sequencers while still
carrying articles on Oscar Peterson solos and comping.
The magazines "Key Buy" award is usually a reliable
stamp of approval that a particular product is of
quality and I personally enjoy it because of its balance
of "gear and ear" since its so easy to get lost in all
the amazing products coming out that I often forget how
little I know about making music and Keyboard reminds me
that I should probably work on my 7th chord inversions
instead of loading up another Virtual Analog synth.
(published monthly)

EQ - We thought we were
going to lose our friend EQ for a while as it went
through some hard times but its back, better than ever.
While covering much of the same area as Electronic
Musician, Keyboard, and Sound on Sound, I find that the
"tone" of the magazine a bit more practical. Their
subtitle is "Make Better Recordings NOW" which I think
put the finger on it that it has a little more of a
practical, nuts and bolts flavor to it that is more
immediately applicable to the stuff you are working on
today. (published monthly)

REMIX - Originally
targeted mostly towards DJ's Remix has grown into one of
the best Music Production magazines available. Great mix
of interviews with high-profile artists like AIR and LCD
SoundSystem with practical articles, concise reviews, CD
reviews, and the acknowledgement that electronic artists
do occasionally play out. If you are more in the Tape Op
camp (live recordings) you won't find much here, but for
electronic music artists, Remix is a "must read".
(published monthly)

Scratch - The one and
only magazine designed strictly for Hip-Hop producers,
and too long in coming. (also wins extra points for not
spelling scratch with a 'k'). While sometimes the
quality can be spotty, and it carries a slick, photo
heavy layout it inherits from its parent publication XXL,
if you are an aspiring or acheived hip-hop producer you
need to read every word of this magazine because nowhere
else does anybody understand the techniques and methods
unique to hip-hop. This shouldn't be your only magazine,
you will probably need one or two of the above magazine
to get your tech chops up, but now that Rap is Dead, its
producers finally have a magazine. (published
bi-monthly)

DUB - Just in case
there is anyone out there who is as stupid as I am, and
buys magazines in a hurry when off to a job, gig, or
plane. DUB has nothing to do with dub music, its about
cars. My copy should have been labled DUH.

Computer Music Magazine
- I just recently discovered this magazine by standing
high as I could and seeing it way in the back filed with
the computer magazines. Main downside is that this
magazine comes from the UK so it cost me $16 for this
magazine (nearly the price of a book) but I considered
it money well spent for two reasons. One is it includes
a DVD that is not filled with trialware, demos, and
promotional videos. It came with a boatload of samples
and a completely free DAW software. While all prices are
in pounds and many of the artists I have never heard of,
this magazine is packed with great how-to's and great
reviews. Plus it has a generally more cutting-edge
technology outlook than any other music tech magazine
with an article covering Vista long before it was
released and an article entitled "Will there ever be a
new form of synthesis?". Down side, subscriptions are
pricey even for Europeans. Yearly subs are 97 Euro or 85
pounds, and you can get a subscription for one quarter
for a little less then $30 (cheaper than my $16 at the
newstand but then you have that lost in the mail
element).

MusicTech - Another new
discovery from UK, another high newstand price ($16.95),
and another one that comes with a free DVD of actually
cool stuff. The main difference is that MusicTech covers
both electronic music production and recording, so there
is talk of such primitive items like Mics. Other than
the very cool DVD however, I saw nothing in it that
wasn't covered as least as well by American
publications, so if you live in the US I can't recommend
paying the extra expense, but for UK or European readers
its an excellent equivalent to something like EQ or
Electronic Musician.

Singer & Musician - Why
someone doesn't give them a hard time about saying
"Singers AND Musicians" as if singers weren't musicians
I don't know, but I guess it makes sure that Singers
know this is especially for them and won't include
tablature to any My Chemical Romance songs. While there
is some coverage of equipment its limited to live
performing equipment and articles cover issues such as "Schtick
or Staple: The Fine Art of Stage Banter". Good magazine
and interesting read but electronic musicians will find
little of use here.

Pro Audio Review -
Really, magazines for musicians feature straight-ahead
names that need little or no explanation. Not so with
other magazines. Can you tell if you don't already know
what "Wallpaper" or "Good" or "Tricycle" are about?
(design, politics/activism, and Buddhism if you cared).
But Pro Audio Review is just that, completely full of
pro audio reviews and nothing else. No how-to articles,
no artist interviews, just extremely in-depth,
technically sound, knowledgable reviews of equipment
most of us can't afford. However sometimes there is a
crossover between what our customers buy and what PAR
reviews, and if you want an extremely in-depth and
professional review (rather than the opinion of some guy
who tried it for a week and thought it was "awesome")
before dropping some serious cash on a piece of
equipment, PAR has got it. (published monthly,
digital version available)

Music Connection/Performer
- While these two magazines are not related in any way
financially they both fill the same invaluable niche,
covering the local music scene for musicians. In other
words, live reviews of places you might actually play,
reviews of local indie CD's and stories on up-and-coming
local bands. And for Music Connection at least, even
demos reviews, which, if very positive will often lead
directly to label interest (if you're interested in
labels).

Performing Singwriter -
I really enjoy this magazine but it has almost nothing
to do with anything technical about music production.
It's mostly focused on the interviews with well known
artists (Mary J. Blige is on the cover of the Jan/Feb
issue on my desk) talking about their songwriting
process in a serious way to other songwriters. Sort of
like "The Actors Studio" used to be, focusing on the
craft, not the fluff. There are gear reviews and a
little overlap, but if you write songs rather than "make
beats" this is a great magazine. But you better also
have a Sound on Sound or EM/EQ around for when you are
ready to make that song a recording.

Billboard - This
magazine was designed for people who are bound for the
forth level of Dante's Inferno (the hoarders and the
wasters), aka record industry people. Of course its well
known for its charts and that's why its mentioned here
because if you are a producer who works with many
artists it is often important to know what's "Hot" and
sometimes industry news (like if the record company you
are negotiating with is about to be bought or go out of
business). Otherwise its filled with pictures of
hardcore rappers and "angry" indie rockers with their
arm around record executives with haircuts from 10 years
ago, which while hilarious, can't possibly justify its
$300 subscription price. (it is weekly though)
Fascinating like a train-wreck, but possibly unavoidable
if you are in "the game".

Radios and Records -
This magazine is designed for fifth level aspirees (the
glutinous), that is the people who decide what records
get played on radio. It also features charts which don't
reflect sales but airplay (often a precursor to sales
I've heard). While this expensive and hard-to-find if
you don't live in an industry town magazine should be
kept away from the children and you may want to prepare
a small essay entitled "Why I love making my art" before
reading it, its worth picking up at least once to see
how people on the other side of the radio see us and
probably a wise read to stay abreast of current radio
trends if you are in "the game".

MMR - Don't read this
magazine, it's not for you, if you can even find it. It
carries all the secrets and tricks we that sell music
equipment use to make you spend your paycheck on music
equipment even though the rent is due and the baby needs
to go to the doctor.

MIX - Along with
Keyboard, Mix has been around for a long time, a rare
feat in the publishing business. Mix has struggled a
little bit to keep up with the times as the days of the
big studio with the $300,000 SSL Console are fading, but
it has adjusted and you will find many articles directed
at the project studio. Because of its prestige it does
tend to attract a higher caliber of writer and the
column by Stephen St. Croix can sometimes be worth the
price alone, but otherwise its fairly indistiguishable
from the pack of quality how-to/review magazines
published today. But it's widely available and has a
consistent level of quality even as it struggles to find
it's focus.

Summary - Magazines are
terrific sources of information that you can't find
anywhere else. But they can also be a trap into thinking
that you NEED the newest piece of software or hardware
to make music. And you may or may not, but keep your
eyes on the prize and of course, MAKE MORE MUSIC.